Webinar

Description and Implications of Falls in Patients Hospitalized Due to COVID-19

October 19, 2022 | 11:00AM - 12:00PM PT

In 2020, the United States began experiencing the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Severe disease requires hospitalization, which itself poses risk to one’s health, including the risk of falling while hospitalized. Our interdisciplinary team conducted a retrospective study to describe characteristics of in-patient falls in persons hospitalized with COVID-19, those hospitalized with pending COVID-19 test results, and those with a history of COVID-19. Data used in this study included post-fall documentation from over 100 falls from 23 hospitals across six states. In this presentation, we will share our results, including a description of characteristics of patients who experienced a fall, variables that describe the fall itself, and common contributing factors.

We will also share the implications of these results, including suggestions for how to manage fall risk in patients with COVID-19 and how to maintain a focus on quality improvement initiatives.

At the conclusion of this presentation, the participant will be able to

  • Define characteristics of adult patients who experienced falls while hospitalized due to COVID-19
  • Discuss common contributing factors of falls occurring in patients with COVID 19.
  • Describe strategies for maintaining quality while responding to other priorities

Wednesday, October 19, 2022: 11 a.m.-noon (PT)

Dr. Hester is the Co-Founder, Chairwoman and CEO of HD Nursing, a patient safety solutions company. She is also the Co-Founder of Health Sense Ai, a healthcare data analytics and holdings company. Her 25 years of nursing experience include over a decade of med/surge and neuro nursing followed by unit management and hospital administration. In 2015, she earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing Science and has since published and spoken extensively on the subject of falls and injury prediction and prevention and is an international thought leader in patient safety. Dr. Hester sits on the Board of the National Association of African Americans with Cystic Fibrosis. She retired from UAMS in 2018 after 26 years of service to dedicate her time fully to HD Nursing while remaining adjunct faculty in the UAMS CON and serves on numerous DNP and PhD Committees nation-wide. As a serial entrepreneur she mentors nurse innovators to help them with their own endeavors and serves as a clinician in residence for the HealthTech Arkansas accelerator.

Dr. Venema is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences in the College of Allied Health Professions at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). As a physical therapist, she has clinical and research experience in geriatrics, specifically focused on maintaining mobility and reducing fall risk in older adults. Over the last ten years, Dr. Venema has been involved in research and quality improvement initiatives for fall risk reduction in hospital settings. This work, known as Collaboration and Proactive Teamwork Used to Reduce (CAPTURE) Falls, has been funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. The CAPTURE Falls Program recently became an analytical subcontractor of the Nebraska Coalition for Patient Safety to perform patient safety activities related to falls in hospital settings. Dr. Venema also provides instruction to Doctor of Physical Therapy students at UNMC in the areas of evidence-based practice, mobility, and balance assessment.

HQI is an approved continuing education (CE) provider by the California Board of Registered Nursing and will provide CHPSO members an opportunity to earn CEs. Provider Number CEP16793 for 1.0 contact hour.

Please contact CHPSO at info@chpso.org if you have any questions.